Gli1 marks a sentinel muscle stem cell population for muscle regeneration
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ABSTRACT: Adult skeletal muscle regeneration is mainly driven by muscle stem cells (MuSCs), which are highly heterogeneous. Although recent studies have started to characterize the heterogeneity of MuSCs, whether a subset of cells with distinct exists within MuSCs remains unanswered. Here, we found that a population of MuSCs, marked by Gli1 expression, is required for muscle regeneration. The Gli1+ MuSC population displayed advantages in proliferation and differentiation both in vitro and in vivo. Depletion of this population led to delayed muscle regeneration, while transplanted Gli1+ MuSCs supported muscle regeneration more effectively than Gli1- MuSCs. Further analysis revealed that even in the uninjured muscle, Gli1+ MuSCs had elevated mTOR signaling activity, increased cell size and mitochondrial numbers compared to Gli1- MuSCs, indicating Gli1+ MuSCs are displaying the features of primed MuSCs. Moreover, Gli1+ MuSCs greatly contributed to the formation of GAlert cells after muscle injury. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that Gli1+ MuSCs represent a distinct MuSC population which is more active in the homeostatic muscle and enters the cell cycle shortly after injury. This cell population functions as the tissue-resident sentinel that rapidly responds to injury and initiates muscle regeneration.
ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus
PROVIDER: GSE239944 | GEO | 2023/08/06
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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